Barricade
by Eurydice
Summary: Casey has trust issues with Natalie while his friend Liv battles a five-year crush on Dan.


[Scene: Conference room, Friday morning]

[Casey, Jeremy, Liv, Natalie]

[Fade up on Liv, a small, nervous but happy girl, pressing her face and hands against the glass of the conference room, as if excitedly looking for something or someone. Continuous pan into the room. Jeremy enters with a folder and picks up a sheaf of papers sitting on the table. Liv does not notice him.]

Jeremy: Excuse me… [Liv whirls around]… can I help you?

Liv: Oh, I'm just waiting for somebody.

Jeremy: Somebody?

Liv: Yes. A person.

Jeremy: I might have known.

Liv: What's your name?

Jeremy: [a bit thrown] Jeremy Goodwin.

Liv: I'm Liv Carter. It's nice to meet you. [she puts out a hand, which Jeremy shakes] Do you know Casey and Dan?

Jeremy: Yes. Are they who you're waiting for?

Liv: [pause] Yes and no. [Casey enters with a smile.]

Casey: And here's the girl herself.

Liv: That's me! [Runs over to Casey to hug him. Jeremy stands by looking politely confused.] It's great to see you, it's been awhile.

Casey: We're busy people, us sports guys. Jeremy, are you being nice to Liv?

Jeremy: As far as I know. [holds up the folder] Gotta get these to Dana. [Smiles and exits. Casey and Liv sit at the table. Liv looks over her shoulder a couple of times.]

Casey: Have any trouble getting over here?

Liv: No, all was rosy. [looks over her shoulder]

Casey: [pause. Smiles.] You'll see him pretty soon. He's writing right now.

Liv: Hmm?

Casey: Dan. He's writing right now.

Liv: [warningly] Casey… not a word.

Casey: Don't worry. 

Liv: Are you sure he doesn't know?

Casey: Liv, this is Dan we're talking about. He's oblivious about many things.

Liv: [Begins to pace around the room] I find it hard to believe that he has no idea at all. I'm not exactly secretive about it to anyone but him.

Casey: Well, apparently you do a good job.

Liv: Do you think he's too old for me?

Casey: Well, he's not quite twice your age, I'd say you'd have a pretty good shot.

Liv: Don't kid with me, Casey. [Natalie enters.] Dan is- [sees her and stops.]

Natalie: Dan is? [Looks at Liv questioningly and then at Casey.] What is Dan?

Liv: Dan is… not an artichoke.

Natalie: No kidding!

Liv: Believe it or not.

Natalie: Are you an artichoke?

Liv: Last time I checked, I was not an artichoke.

Natalie: Good to know. [looks at Casey with raised eyebrows]

Casey: Natalie, meet Liv Carter. 

Natalie: Very nice to meet you, Liv. Have you been shown around yet?

Casey: I'm going to take her on the grand tour in a few minutes. [to Liv] You're up for some wild excitement, let me tell you.

Liv: I'm sure. [to Natalie] My family and the McCalls have been friends for years. I want to go into sportscasting-

Casey: Sports anchoring.

Liv: Sorry, yes, sports anchoring, so Casey said next time I was in town he'd show me the ropes.

Casey: We've got the best ropes you'll ever see.

Liv: I have no doubt. Who'm I going to meet today?

Casey: Oh, so many people.

Natalie: Not artichokes, mind you. Have you met Dan yet? [Liv blushes.] Ohh.

Liv: What?

Natalie: You've met Dan.

Liv: But-

Casey: [to Liv] She's perceptive.

Natalie: [smiling] He's writing right now. Why don't you go visit?

Liv: He's probably busy-

Natalie: Never too busy! [pats Liv on the shoulder, Casey chuckles] Wait a minute, how old are you?

Liv: [helplessly] Eighteen-

Natalie: What's twelve years? Go on! [smiles. Liv takes a deep breath.]

Liv: I'm going to do it. I'm going… to talk to Dan. Here I go. [pause]

Casey: Look at you go.

Liv: Okay, okay! [exits. Natalie begins to follow.]

Casey: Natalie. Got a minute?

Natalie: What's up?

Casey: What are you doing on Saturday?

Natalie: Why?

Casey: Lisa picked the same weekend as the woman who usually watches Charlie to have to leave town. I promised Liv I'd take her to see a show while she was here-

Natalie: Say no more, I'd love to watch Charlie.

Casey: You're wonderful.

Natalie: I know. [exits. A look of dread crosses Casey's face.]

[Scene: The office]

[Liv, Dan, Casey]

[Liv approaches the office cautiously, almost tiptoeing. She gets to the doorway and peeks around the corner, biting her lip. After a moment or two she decides to enter, then changes her mind and tries to turn around, the result being that she trips over her own feet and falls through the doorway. Dan looks up in surprise and stands; Liv is facing out so that he cannot immediately see her face.]

Dan: Um, hi there. [Liv gets to her feet.] Liv!

Liv: [shyly] Hi, Dan. Ouch…

Dan: Are you all right? [brushes her off a bit, smiling] Any injuries?

Liv: Only my pride.

Dan: It's been awhile, hasn't it?

Liv: Beg your pardon?

Dan: Since I've seen you. It's been awhile.

Liv: Oh… yes it has. Then again, I see you almost every night.

Dan: So either you dream about me or watch the show.

Liv: The show. Wouldn't miss it.

Dan: You don't dream about me?

Liv: Sometimes, but usually you're carrying a canteloupe and asking where the train station is.

Dan: [pauses] Seriously?

Liv: The show's going really well; I didn't think it could get better, but it did. You guys work hard.

Dan: Well, we try. [Casey enters, the same look of dread on his face.]

Casey: I may have just made a horrible mistake.

Dan: Did you tell Dave to stick his nose in the outlet?

Casey: No.

Dan: Good, because that would be mean.

Liv: He probably wouldn't do it.

Dan: True, but then again, he might think Casey's out to get him.

Casey: I just asked Natalie to sit for Charlie on Saturday.

Liv: And?

Dan: Do you not trust Natalie?

Casey: Of course I trust Natalie.

Dan: So what's the problem?

Casey: I trust Natalie with things that happen with the show. If I need to find you, or some kind of stat for the intro, I can trust Natalie. But outside of this building, I don't know.

Dan: Then why ask her?

Casey: [pause] Hindsight is 20/20, my friend.

Liv: In this case, I'm pretty sure it isn't.

Casey: What?

Liv: Well, you don't know if anything's going to happen, so your hindsight is still pretty nearsighted.

Dan: She's got a point.

Casey: Quiet.

Dan: I'm sure she'll be fine. Just tell her not to let Jeremy come with her and you'll be fine. [He sits. Casey's eyes widen and he runs from the room. There is a pause.] So Liv, where's the train station?

[Scene: Jeremy's desk]

[Casey, Jeremy, Dana]

[Jeremy is sitting and talking on the phone.]  
Jeremy: No, I need to talk to Craig Jeffries… Jeremy Goodwin, I need to get some information about the Patriots… can you have him call me at this phone number? [Casey approaches.] Okay, thank you. [Hangs up.]

Casey: Jeremy.

Jeremy: Yes.

Casey: I need to ask you a favor. [sits]

Jeremy: Shoot.

Casey: [looks around, lowers his voice] If Natalie asks you to do something with her this weekend, say no.

Jeremy: All right…

Casey: She's going to be babysitting my son and I don't want her to be distracted.

Jeremy: I understand.

Casey: I don't know how much experience she has with this sort of thing, so I figure, better safe than sorry.

Jeremy: Yes. Good idea.

Casey: And you're pretty distracting to Natalie.

Jeremy: Thank you.

Casey: Yeah, anytime. [stands]

Jeremy: Curiosity question.

Casey: Yeah? [sits again]

Jeremy: Liv's not going to seduce Dan, is she? [pause]

Casey: I'm pretty sure we won't have to worry about that.

Jeremy: Ah, Natalie will be disappointed to hear that.

Casey: You're not helping her, Jeremy.

Jeremy: Right. Sorry. [Casey leaves and as he walks away Dana hurries up to him.]

Dana: Casey!

Casey: Yes.

Dana: [low voice] Who's Liv and why is she seducing Dan?

Casey: Liv's not going to seduce Dan; she's way too shy.

Dana: But who is she?

Casey: You've met her before. She's my friend. [He stops and points into the office. Dan and Liv are discussing something, and Dana blinks in surprise.]

Dana: Oh, her! She's just a kid.

Casey: She's eighteen!

Dana: But she's too young to seduce Dan. Why would she seduce Dan in the first place?

Casey: She's not going to seduce Dan!

Dana: Natalie was under the impression that she was.

Casey: Liv has had a crush on Dan for about five years now. If she were a more outgoing girl perhaps we'd have to worry about Dan, but believe me, she's not going to try any seduction techniques.

Dana: How do you know?

Casey: Liv doesn't know any seduction techniques. [Natalie approaches them]

Natalie: She's talking to Dan!

Casey: Yes.

Natalie: Do you think she's going to seduce him?

Casey: Not a chance in hell.

Natalie: I think there's a pretty good chance.

Casey: I've known Liv almost her entire life; believe me, there's not a chance in hell.

Natalie: She's talking to him.

Casey: I'm talking to you, but that doesn't mean I'm trying to seduce you. 

Natalie: And why not?

Casey: Because it wouldn't work.

Natalie: That's right.

Dana: Five _years_?

Casey: Five years.

Dana: I find it hard to believe that anyone could have a crush on anyone else for five years and not tell them about it.

Casey: How little you know.

Natalie: We should tell him.

Casey: We should most definitely not tell him.

Natalie: Why not?  
Casey: She doesn't want him to know. If she wanted him to know she would tell him.

Natalie: But you just said yourself that she was shy. So maybe she wants him to know and just can't get up the nerve to tell him.

Casey: There would really be very little benefit to her telling him. She's twelve years younger than Dan. Twelve. Now, Dan's open-minded, but not _that_ open-minded.

Dana: He doesn't have to fall at her feet, Casey, but I really think he should know. That way, Liv can move on.

Casey: Liv doesn't want to move on. [Kim and Elliot walk by.] She's perfectly happy being in love with Dan.

Kim: Who's in love with Dan?

Natalie: Liv.

Kim: Who's Liv?

Natalie: Her. [points into the office]

Elliot: I met her earlier in the conference room. Nice kid. She's in love with Dan?

Dana: For five years now. [Casey sighs.]

Kim: Does he know?

Natalie: No.

Kim: We should tell him.

Casey: No, we shouldn't!

Kim: It's cute!

Casey: Liv doesn't want to be cute. She wants to feel like the adult that she is and live quietly.

Natalie: She should live quietly. With Dan.

Casey: She's eighteen! He's thirty!

Natalie: So what? Twelve years is nothing! If Dan would make her happy, she should try to get him!

Casey: Listen to yourself, Natalie. She doesn't-

Dana: I think you both have perfectly valid points, really, but this is Liv's problem. We don't even know her, well, okay, Casey does, but she should decide for herself, all right?

Natalie: Fine.

Casey: Fine.

Dana: Good.

[Casey leaves the group and heads for the office.]

Liv: [as Casey stops in the doorway; to Dan] …and so the old Indian looks at the guy and says, "Scrambled." [laughs]

Dan: [laughing as well] That's horrible.

Liv: But you're going to tell it later, aren't you?

Dan: To as many people as I can find. Hey, Casey, you heard Liv's joke?

Casey: I told her that one.

Liv: You did not! Lisa did.

Dan: C'mon, Liv, Lisa's never said a funny thing in her life.

Liv: You know you're right; I think actually she told me she hated scrambled eggs with a passion. My mistake.

Casey: Your mistake. Hey Liv, want to see the rest of the studio? 

Liv: Sure. [Dana enters.]

Casey: I'll be right with you; need to ask Dana something.

Dana: And I have to ask you something, so it works out.

Dan: I'll take her around.

Liv: You will?

Dan: Sure. C'mon, follow me, you're about to get the tour _du jour_.

Liv: The tour of the day?

Dan: It's the tour you're getting today, so it counts. [Liv and Dan exit. Casey turns to Dana.]

Dana: So what did you want to ask me?  
Casey: About Natalie.

Dana: She's sitting your son on Saturday.

Casey: She certainly is.

Dana: And?

Casey: I'm wondering if it would be better to have a great white shark watch Charlie.

Dana: That's kind of insulting.

Casey: I'm sorry.

Dana: To her, not me.

Casey: I'm just not sure Natalie's up to it.

Dana: Up to it? Casey, she's a producer for a very hectic sports show. She can handle a babysitting job.

Casey: That's just it, I've never seen her work in that capacity before. 

Dana: But you should trust Natalie with Charlie; he's a good kid, he won't give her much trouble. And give Natalie some credit here, if you didn't trust her you probably wouldn't have asked in the first place.

Casey: [pause] You're probably right.

Dana: I am right.

Casey: I'm overreacting.

Dana: You are definitely overreacting.

Casey: So why does the thought still fill me with unmistakable dread?

Dana: Because you're overreacting.

Casey: Yes.

Dana: What do you think she's going to do? Play strip poker with your son? [Casey looks at Dana in horror.] Casey-

Casey: Don't even joke about that, Dana.

Dana: I was kidding.

Casey: I know. Don't joke about that, Dana. In my present mental state, it is very, very wrong to do so.

Dana: I'm sorry.

Casey: So what should I do?

Dana: About Natalie? Let her babysit Charlie. She'll be fine.

Casey: You're sure.

Dana: Absolutely. [pause]

Casey: You're _sure_.

Dana: Casey!

Casey: Right. Overreacting. Right.

[Scene: Hallway outside the conference room]

[Dan, Liv]

Dan: And you've been in there, that's the conference room. We do the rundown meetings in there.

Liv: Noon, six, eight and ten.

Dan: You've been studying.

Liv: I bug Casey to tell me about everything.

Dan: And he actually tells you? I should learn your technique.

Liv: Well, you already know the things I'm asking about, so it would be a moot point. I'm pretty sure he tells you everything anyway.

Dan: Does he?

Liv: Well, he tells me he does.

Dan: Huh. Say, let me ask you something. [They stop walking.]

Liv: Yeah?

Dan: Do you have a thesaurus?

Liv: On me? No.

Dan: I'm sure there's one somewhere in this building.

Liv: It's a big building; it would stand to reason that somewhere within it lurks a thesaurus. Why do you need one?

Dan: I need a synonym.

Liv: That makes sense.

Dan: I need a synonym for the word "sad."

Liv: Sad?

Dan: I'm pretty sure "sad" doesn't work as a synonym for "sad."

Liv: Um… unhappy?

Dan: It's gotta have punch. [illustrates by lightly boxing at the air]

Liv: Punch? [repeats the action]

Dan: You know… [repeats the action again] Punch.

Liv: Okay, a punchy synonym for sad… that's going to be hard to find. How about melancholy?

Dan: Doesn't quite fit.

Liv: Doleful?

Dan: Nah.

Liv: Sorrowful?

Dan: Nope.

Liv: Morose? Lugubrious?

Dan: [pause] Say that last one again.

Liv: Lugubrious.

Dan: Spell it.

Liv: L-u-g-u-b-r-I-o-u-s.

Dan: That's a good one. Lugubrious. I like it. How old are you?

Liv: Eighteen.

Dan: You got way too big a vocabulary for a girl your age.

Liv: I read a lot. And I don't think there's anything wrong with my vocabulary.

Dan: I'm going to stump you.

Liv: Beg pardon?

Dan: I'm going to find a word of which you don't know the definition.

Liv: Just because I know a lot of synonyms for sad-

Dan: I'm gonna do it! [calls out] Someone find me a dictionary!

[Scene: Booth / studio]

[Everyone]

[Liv is seated over to the left of Dave, watching the moniters eagerly- most specifically focussing on Dan. Dana notices this with amusement and points it out surreptitiously to Natalie.]

Dana: Cute, isn't she?

Natalie: I definitely think she should seduce him.

Dan: [on moniter] … intercepted by runningback Charles Greene, leading to a rather lugubrious ending for the initially jubilant favorites, the Buffalo Bills.

Casey: [studio] I'm told that lugubrious is a fancy way of saying "unhappy," you're watching Sports Night on CSC, so stick around.

Dave: We're out.

Natalie: 90 seconds back.

Dana: [into mic] Lugubrious, Danny?

Dan: Liv says it means "sad."

Dana: [looks to Liv, who nods] Well, yes it does…

Dan: I needed an adjective with punch.

Dana: Punch?

Dan: Yeah, you know… [does the action] Punch.

Dana: Of course.

Dan: [pulls an index card from his pocket] Dana, get Liv on the mic, I've got some questions for her. [Casey laughs. Liv looks at Dana, who chuckles and motions for her to hurry up, which she does.] Okay, Liv? "Defenestrate."

Liv: [hesitantly; into mic] Uh… to throw something or someone out of a window.

Dan: [looking nonplussed] Yeah. Uh, "liripipe."

Liv: A long tail attached to a hood in the gothic period; the hood itself was called a chaperone.

Dan: [flips to a different card] "Pedunculate."

Liv: On or supported by a peduncle.

Dave: In three, two, one…

Casey: [on moniter] You're back with Sports Night, on CSC, I'm Casey McCall…

Natalie: What the hell is a peduncle?

Liv: Part of a plant, I think.

Dana: Why is he quizzing you on vocabulary?

Liv: I have no idea. [Smiles and goes to sit down.]

Jeremy: Actually, the hood itself is called a capuchon, not a chaperone.

Liv: Well, without the tail, the hood is a capuchon, yes. But if the hood has the liripipe, that makes it a chaperone. [pause]

Dana: [very quietly, to Natalie] Did you get any of that? [Natalie shakes her head. Jeremy is looking at the back of Liv's head {she is now sitting down} in confusion.]

[Scene: Editing room, Monday morning]

[Dana, Casey, Liv]

[Casey is sitting on the couch reading over a file in a folder. Dana peers in the window, sees him, and enters.]

Dana: Hey.

Casey: Morning, Dana.

Dana: How was your weekend?

Casey: Great. 

Dana: [after a pause] That's it? Great?

Casey: Do you want a better adjective?

Dana: Well, I'd like a little more detail. What show did you take Liv to? Did she enjoy it? Did Natalie do a good job sitting for Charlie?

Casey: I took Liv to see _Les Miserables_, she loved it, and Natalie did fine.

Dana: My, aren't you Mr. Talkative this morning?

Casey: Sorry. [Liv enters, smiling.]

Liv: Hi, Casey! Hi, Dana!

Dana: Hey, Liv! What did you think of _Les Mis_?

Liv: Oh, it was amazing, just amazing. I'd never seen a Broadway show before, it was simply spectacular. [Sighs and flops onto the couch next to Casey. Dana sits in the chair.]

Dana: I was never much of a theatre buff, but I am now. I love the theatre. Musicals especially. 

Liv: Good!

Dana: I always thought the saddest part about _Les Mis_ was the whole Eponine – Marius unrequited love thing.

Liv: I always thought the saddest part was when everybody died.

Dana: But people die all the time!

Liv: And that makes it so much happier!

Dana: Well, that's not what I meant, but the point is that Eponine only got the courage to tell Marius she loved him when she was dying! I mean, that's way more depressing than everyone and their cousin dying in a war they wanted to fight anyway.

Liv: I'm not seeing it, but okay.

Dana: These guys went to the barricade knowing deep down that they weren't coming back. Eponine goes to help, thinking it may be her last chance to see Marius alive, and then she's the one who ends up getting killed. Don't you think she maybe feels a little bitter? She's the one who's known Marius for a long time, and then he sees this Cosette girl and falls for her in two seconds. Eponine's just coming to grips with this, and she dies. What kind of existence is that?

Liv: [to Casey] Is she always like this?

Casey: She's trying to drop a gentle hint.

Liv: Huh?

Dana: What if you were in _Les Mis_?

Liv: The show wouldn't sell nearly as many tickets as it does now.

Dana: No, I mean, what if your life were _Les Mis_?

Liv: I'd be in trouble. I don't speak French.

Dana: I'm talking about Dan, Liv.

Liv: [pause] [looks at Casey] Ah. [Casey suddenly becomes very interested in his folder.]

Casey: I'm not here.

Dana: Imagine that Dan were going off to the barricade, and you never told him about this five-year crush?

Liv: Dan doesn't speak French either.

Casey: I do.

Liv and Dana: Shut up.

Liv: You're not here, remember?

Casey: Right.

Dana: Does it bother you that you've never told him?

Liv: Sometimes. But then I remember that it wouldn't matter if I told him, because, well, there are lots of reasons.

Dana: Name three.

Liv: I live in Nebraska and he lives in New York, there's a twelve year age difference, and I'm not his type.

Dana: Dan has a type?

Liv: Well, if he does have a type, I'm not it. Look, Dana, I'm not Eponine. I'm Olivia Noelle Carter from Omaha, and who cares if I've been in love with Dan for five years? People have crushes all the time, it doesn't mean anything. How many people know about this, anyway?

Dana: Roughly?

Liv: Ballpark figure.

Dana: Well, roughly, I'd say everyone in the studio except Dan. 

Liv: [buries face in hands] Oh, geez…

Dana: Liv-

Liv: How did that happen?

Dana and Casey: Natalie.

Liv: Oh, _geez_…

Casey: Look, Liv, I'm not sure that Dana's _Les Mis_ analogy is doing wonders for me either, but wouldn't you rather he heard it from you than from, say, Elliot?

Liv: [looks fixedly at Casey] I'm going to have to do this thing, aren't I?

Casey: [smiling] What's the worst that could happen?

Liv: I could get shot on my way to the barricade. [stands] All right. Fine. Just need to go collect my thoughts. Oh, geez… [leaves]

Dana: She's a good kid, Casey.

Casey: Yes, she is.

Dana: So Natalie did fine?

Casey: [pause] Yes.

Dana: Did Charlie like her?

Casey: Charlie loved her.

Dana: Really?

Casey: [this is obviously a difficult thing for him to say] He said she was his favorite sitter yet, and that's including Mrs. Guilderoy that has the really cool lizard.

Dana: Wow, high praise. So I guess your fears were groundless.

Casey: I might have been a little… overanxious.

Dana: You were petrified, Casey.

Casey: Overanxious. 

Dana: I guess you'll trust Natalie from now on?

Casey: I trust Natalie!

Dana: Yeah, sure you do.

Casey: I could do without the sermon this morning, Whitaker.

Dana: I bet you're feelin' pretty small now.

Casey: Small?

Dana: For not trusting Natalie.

Casey: All right, all right, I'm sorry I didn't trust Natalie. Happy?

Dana: You bet! 

[Continuous – Dana leaves the editing room and walks through the set and office area where she runs into Liv, who is staring nervously, as if hypnotized, at Dan and Casey's office door. Dan is sitting inside typing, not noticing her.]

Dana: [prodding Liv, who starts] Go on.

Liv: I don't know if I can do this…

Dana: If you don't I'm going to start belting "On My Own" and see how many people we get staring at us.

Liv: All right! All right! [goes to the office and stands in the doorway. Dan looks up.]

Dan: Hirsute.

Liv: What?

Dan: Hirsute.

Liv: Are you saying that I'm hirsute? [Comes in and sits on the couch]

Dan: No, I'm asking you what it means.

Liv: Hairy. Hirsute means hairy.

Dan: Did you, like, memorize the dictionary?

Liv: [shrugs] I took a vocab class before I took the SATs.

Dan: And "pedunculate" was on the SATs?

Liv: No, I just know what it means.

Dan: Ah.

Liv: [pause] You ever seen Les Mis?

Dan: It was awhile ago, but yeah.

Liv: If you could be any character from Les Mis, which would you be?

Dan: I don't know. Someone who doesn't die at the end. 

Liv: That's a narrow field.

Dan: I know, it leaves Marius and that Thenardier guy. And Raoul.

Liv: There was no Raoul in Les Mis.

Dan: Really?

Liv: Raoul was in _Phantom of the Opera_.

Dan: Right. So I guess Marius.

Liv: Neat. [pause]

Dan: Why do you ask?

Liv: No reason. [pause]

Dan: Okay. Which character would you be?

Liv: Eponine. I've had a crush on you for five years.

Dan: [looks at her] Seriously?

Liv: Yep. [pause]

Dan: That was certainly not the answer I was expecting to my question.

Liv: Understandable.

Dan: You seem more like a Cosette to me.

Liv: [pause] What?

Dan: Five years?

Liv: Can we pick one conversation and go with it?

Dan: Sure. Five years?

Liv: [shrugs helplessly] Five years.

Dan: Does Casey know?

Liv: Yeah, he knows. Everyone knows by now.

Dan: Natalie found out, huh?

Liv: [chuckles] Yes she did.

Dan: Why didn't you say anything before?

Liv: There are many, many reasons…

Dan: Were you afraid I'd scoff at you or something?

Liv: Well… [obviously meaning "yes"]

Dan: [leaning forward] I'm not going to scoff at you. I'm flattered beyond belief. I would never in my life think that someone might have a five-year crush on me.

Liv: Well, I do.

Dan: So you've said. [smiles] Thanks.

Liv: Um… you're welcome?

Dan: [stands] C'mere. [Liv stands and goes over to Dan, who hugs her. She smiles in confusion, and Dan steps back.] Y'know something?

Liv: A few things.

Dan: I think you're the first person I've met who rivals Jeremy.

Liv: I'll take that as a compliment.

[Under the conversation, the song "Walls" by Tom Petty starts playing: _Some days are diamonds, some days are rocks / Some doors are open, some roads are blocked / Sundowns are golden, then fade away / And if I never do nothin', I'll get you back someday…_]

Dan: [as they sit back down] Things aren't going to be awkward now, are they?

Liv: [smiling] Nah.

Dan: [smiles back] Good! Hey, got another word for ya: persiflage.

Liv: Idle chat or banter.

Dan: Man, you're good!

[They continue discussing vocabulary at their leisure, as the camera pulls back. Casey is standing by the doorway, having listened to the whole conversation, and he enters the office.]

[Black out]

__

You've got a heart so big it could crush this town

And I can't hold out forever

Even walls fall down…

THE END


End file.
